1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multicolor printing device for performing color printing based on data that is prepared by a computer or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional multicolor printing devices include a vessel in which plural color materials having different colors are stocked. When a specific color material is consumed or becomes insufficient (i.e., its residual quantity becomes small), a printing operation is interrupted and a message display is made with a lamp or a panel to warn the user of an abnormality. Based on this alarm, the user replaces the insufficient or emptied color material in the vessel and continues the printing operation.
However, in this type of conventional device, the printing operation must be ceased if there is no spare color material. Furthermore, when solid color materials are used, the colored material must be melted as a pre-stage of the printing operation. Thus, there is a disadvantage that the printing operation must be ceased for approximately 30 minutes after the replacement of the color material. There has been developed a technique using liquid ink as the colored material. Primary color ink components are mixed with each other to obtain various colors. However, there is no consideration to continue the printing operation when a specific color material is emptied. See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-142249, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.